Serbs in Albania

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Serbs in Albania
Srbi u Albaniji / Срби у Албанији
Serbët në Shqipëri
Total population
2,000-4,000 Serb-Montenegrins (2000 Census)
Regions with significant populations
Shkodër County (Vrakë), Fier
Languages
Serbian, Albanian
Religion
Serbian Orthodox Church
Part of a series of articles on
Serbs

Serbs in Albania constitute an ethnic minority in Albania, officially recognized as the Serbo-Montenegrin minority.[1] According to the latest national minority census in Albania (2000), there were around 2,000 Serbs and Montenegrins (they are listed together as one ethnic group) in the country.[2] Domestic community claims the figure at least 4,000 as of 2009 as that is the number of the members of Morača-Rozafa Association of the Serb minority in Albania.

According to the Serbian Ministry of Diaspora in 2009, the most vulnerable minority of Europe are the Serbs in Albania, who since Communist Albania have not had their right to the use of the Serbian language, the religious orientation (Serbian Orthodox), while during the rule of Enver Hoxha, they were forced to change names and are not able to reclaim them.[3]

History

Middle Ages

With short interruptions, the territory that later became a part of Sanjak of Scutari in the Ottoman Empire, belonged to the Slavic medieval feudal states for many centuries.[4] The army of South Slavs (Sklavenoi), who began raiding Byzantine territories in 520s, conquered Durrës and most of Epirus and Macedonia in 548. According to Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (r. 913–959) in his work "Administration of the Empire", described the many peoples in proximity to the Eastern Roman Empire. The Early Serbs lived in the former Roman provinces of Dalmatia, Praevalitana and Moesia; in parts of northernmost Albania (around Lake Skadar) and were initially organized in Sclavinias (Slavdom, i.e. "Slav area") where powerful patriarchal tribes had autonomy under the Byzantine Empire. During the rule of Časlav Klonimirović (r. 927-960), most of Albania was part of Bulgaria (eastern) and the Byzantine Empire (Dyrrhachium (theme), western maritime). After the Byzantine annexation of Raška, the Serbian principality of Duklja succeeded as the peripheral entity of the Serbs and had much of the land north of Durrës, with Shkodër being an important city in the dominion. Khan Samuel of Bulgaria (r. 997–1014) had by 997 conquered all of Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia, and most of modern Albania.[5] Jovan Vladimir ruled Duklja during the war between Byzantine Emperor Basil II and Samuel. Vladimir allegedly retreated into Koplik when Samuel invaded Duklja, and was subsequently forced to accept Bulgarian vassalage. Vladimir was later slewn by the Bulgars, and received a cult; Shingjon (the feast of St. Jovan Vladimir), which is celebrated by the Albanian Orthodox Christians.[6] In 1018 Basil II conquered most of the Balkans and established the Archbishopric of Ochrid, an Eastern Orthodox see for the South Slavs. In the 1030s, Stefan Vojislav from the Serbian principality of Travunia expelled the last strategos, and successfully defeated the Byzantines by 1042. Stefan Vojislav set up Shkodër as his capital.[7] Constantine Bodin accepted the crusaders of the Crusade of 1101 in Shkodër. After the dynastic struggles in the 12th century, Shkodër became part of the Nemanyid Zeta province. In 1330 Stefan Uroš III appointed his son Stefan Dušan as the governor of Zeta and its seat Shkodër.[8] According to a 1330 Serbian chrysobull northern Albania is populated by Orthodox Serbs and several town name also attest to a prominence of Serbs: Trebo polje, Bajbane, Luzane, Gorane, Buljane etc.[9] During the fall of the Serbian Empire (14th century), Shkodër was taken by Zetan Balšić family who surrendered the city to Venice, in order to form protection zone from the Ottoman Empire. During Venetian rule the city adopted the Statutes of Scutari, a civic law written in Venetian, which also contained Albanian elements such as Besa and Gjakmarrja.[10][11] Principality of Zeta, a former Ottoman vassal, lost its status as an independent state and was largely incorporated into the Sanjak of Scutari in 1499.[12] In 1514, this territory was separated from the Sanjak of Scutari and established as a separate sanjak, under the rule of Skenderbeg Crnojević. When he died in 1528, the Sanjak of Montenegro was reincorporated into the Sanjak of Scutari as a unique administrative unit (vilayet) with certain degree of autonomy.[13] The first Ottoman censuses (1431, 1467 and 1485) show such substantial presence of Slavic toponyms.

Ottoman era

In 1582, in Ottoman defter "Tahrir defterleri", most of northern Albania had Serb populations; the Sanjak of Scutari had 81,700 Serbs, while Durrës Sandjak had 8,600 Serbs.[14] In the east of the Shkodra lake there were Serb enclaves, also attested in place-names: Zlogora, Brezje, Grnčar, Podgor, Kosmač, Gradič, Dobre, Trnoslav, Gradec, Rumište, Maličevo, Kosovo, Brdence, Poljičani, Popine, and the village Srbin and city of Šklav.[14][15]

The 1582—1583 census organized in Sanjak of Scutari show many nahiyah with a total of 709 villages:[16]

  • Shkodër with 128 villages
  • Dušmen with 24 villages; majority had personal names with an Albanian character, minority with a Serbian character.
    • Toponyms show some South Slavic influence, indicating a presence of a South Slavic-speaking population that later depopulated the region
    • Islamisation was slowly occurring within the nahiyah, based on the presence of characteristically Muslim names within its population
  • Zabojana with 48 villages; majority had personal names with an Albanian character, minority with a Serbian character.
  • Mrko with 9 villages; majority had personal names with a Serbian character, minority with an Albanian character.
  • Krajina with 18 villages; majority had personal names with an Albanian character
    • Toponyms show an overwhelming South Slavic influence, indicating a presence of a South Slavic-speaking population that later depopulated the region
  • Gorje Šestan (Džebel-i Šestan) with 7 villages; majority had personal names with a Serbian character, minority with an Albanian character.
  • Podgorica with 13 villages; majority had personal names with a Serbian character, minority with an Albanian character.
  • Žabljak with 8 villages; majority had personal names with a Serbian character, minority with an Albanian character.
  • Hoti with 8 villages; majority had personal names with an Albanian character, while a minority had with a Serbian character.
  • Bjelopavlići with 6 villages; overwhelming majority had personal names with a Serbian character
  • Vražegrmci with 16 villages; overwhelming majority had personal names with a Serbian character
  • Pobor with 11 villages; overwhelming majority had personal names with a Serbian character
  • Klemente with 2 villages; majority had personal names with an Albanian character, minority with a Serbian character.
  • Kuči with 13 villages; majority had personal names with a Serbian character, minority with an Albanian character.
  • Peć with 235 villages; overwhelming majority had personal names with a Serbian character; very few personal names with an Albanian character mentioned
    • Islamisation was common within the nahiyah, with many Serbs and Albanians converting to Islam
  • Altin (Altun li) with 41 villages; relative majority had names with a Serbian character, minority with an Albanian character
  • Petrišpan with 33 villages
  • Budimlje with 31 villages; overwhelming majority had personal names with a Serbian character
    • Presence of Muslim inhabitants shown in one village within the nahiyah
  • Komoran with 20 villages; overwhelming majority had personal names with a Serbian character
    • Presence of Muslim inhabitants shown in two villages within the nahiyah
  • Plav with 18 villages; all inhabitants had personal names with a Serbian character
    • No Muslim inhabitants within the nahiyah
  • Zla Rijeka with 12 villages

Modern

In 1828, a Serb school was opened in Shkodra. Nikola Musulin attended it.

In 1920, the following villages had Serbian majority or plurality: Brch, Basits, Vraka, Sterbets, Kadrum. Farming was the chief occupation.[citation needed]

In 1921, Albanian government declared that the Greeks were to be registered as a minority, the Orthodox Serbs however were to register themselves as Albanians (thus becoming nationals of Albania) in a two-year period.[citation needed] In the Albanian census the Greeks numbered 15,000 while Serbs and Bulgarians numbered 200[citation needed] families. During the time of 1921-1928 the Serb community in Albania was strengthened through efforts of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which opened several Serbian private schools in 1923-1924 of which the school of Vrake had 72 pupils in 1930, three schools in Shkodra.[citation needed] A ethnic Serb football team existed in Shkodra that competed in the Albanian league. Two youth organizations (Guslar and Obilich) existed in Shkodra. The formation of Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania weakened the Serbs and Greeks in the country. The active 14 churches and Monastery were slowly closed by the Albanian government.[17] The Serb school in Vrake was destroyed in 1934.[18] Enver Hoxha decided to destroy the Serbian cemeteries and 2 of the Serb temples.[19]

Following the liberation of the Balkan states, Serbs from Albania began to migrate to Serbia. With the Yugoslav wars, many Serbs moved to Serbia and Montenegro, and again with the Kosovo War.

Demographics

Minorities of Albania, Serbs in green
  • In 1912, Serbian Orthodox bishop Nikolaj Velimirović registered more than 60,000 Serbs in the region of Shkodra and Tirana and 39 ethnic Serb villages inside Albania.[citation needed] In Korçë 1,400 South Slavs were registered, however a much higher estimation exist.[citation needed]
  • According to the 1928 population census, there were ca. 65,000 Serbs in Albania, forming around 8% of Albania's total population and the largest of its minorities.[20]
  • 1990s: 1,542 Orthodox in Vrakë (Serbs-Montenegrins).[citation needed]

Culture

As part of assimilation politics, Serbs were not allowed to have Serbian names.[18] Many Serbs took simple words as surnames: Druri (drvo, tree), Arra (orah, walnut), Guri (kamen, stone), Hekuri (gvožđe, iron), Qershia (trešnja, cherry), Dritarja (prozor, window).[18]

On the small route from Elbasan to Djuhaze are the remains of 99 Serbian Orthodox buildings. In Shkodra is the Cathedral of Saint Stephen, in Donja the church of Mother Mary.[citation needed]

Anthropology

Many towns with historical Serb population derive their name from the early Middle Ages when Slavs ruled Albania.[15]

The Ljumljani were Serbs that were Islamicized and subsequently Albanised.[21]

There are sources that point that the Kelmendi are of Serb origin,[22][23][24] that the founder came from the Morača[25] i.e. Piperi[24] i.e. Herzegovina.[26] A certain Klmen (or Amati) from Kuči settled first in Hoti then re-settled in the present clan area.[24] Among some Kelmends, Nikola Oštroumni Kolmendija (Nikola "Sharp-minded" Kolmendija) is the founding father.[27] There are sources that point that the Kelmendi are of Serb origin,[22][23][24] that the founder came from the Morača[25] i.e. Piperi[24] i.e. Herzegovina.[26] A certain Klmen (or Amati) from Kuči settled first in Hoti then re-settled in the present clan area.[24] Among some Kelmends, Nikola Oštroumni Kolmendija (Nikola "Sharp-minded" Kolmendija) is the founding father.[27]

The Kastrati clan was recorded for the first time in 1416.[28] The clan's centre was once at the ruins of a Roman castra on the Scutari-Orosh road.[29] According to a local legend they are descendants of Krsto who was a brother of Grča, the ancestor of Kuči.[30] It was also recorded that Alexius[31] Kastrati, a lord of three villages, had in 1403 received a gift from the governor of Scutari.[32][33] In a work of Jovan Cvijić it was recorded that in one of the villages (Kamenicë) of the Kastrati region the majority of the population were Orthodox Serbs.[34] Cvijić also recorded that the Kastrati themselves have a story about their mixed Serbian-Albanian origin.[34] The region had 300 Catholic and 200 Muslim households.[35] According to the founding legend of the clan, 300 houses descend from a Delti or Dedli from Drekalovići of Kuči, while 200 houses descend from Slavs who were living on the territory before arrival of Delti.[36][37]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/ecri/Country-by-country/Albania/ALB-CbC-IV-2010-001-ENG.pdf
  2. ↑ untitled
  3. ↑ International Radio Serbia. "International Radio Serbia |". Glassrbije.org. Retrieved 2013-02-11. 
  4. ↑ Luka, David. "Regjistri turk i vitit 1485*" (in Albanian). http://www.kulturserver-hamburg.de. Retrieved 30 April 2011. "Për katër shekuj me radhë (XI-XIV) me pak ndërprerje krahinat e Shqipërisë Veriore (përafërsisht ato që në të ardhmen do të bëjnë pjesë në sanxhakun e Shkodrës), qëndruan nën sundimin e feudalëve serbë të shtetit të Dioklesë dhe të Rashës." 
  5. ↑ Fine 1991, p. 193
  6. ↑ Koti 2006, para. 1, 2
  7. ↑ Fine 1991, p. 206
  8. ↑ Miladin Stevanović; Vuk Branković (srpski velmoža.) (2004). Vuk Branković. Knjiga-komerc. p. 38. Retrieved 20 April 2013. "После битке код Велбужда млади краљ Душан, чији је углед знатно порастао, добио је од оца на управљање Зету са седиштем у Скадру." 
  9. ↑ Milica Grković. "Lična imena u nekim naseljima Severne Albanije i slovensko-albanske veze u svetlu antroponimije" (in Serbian). Rastko.rs. Retrieved 2013-02-11. 
  10. ↑ Anamali, Skënder and Prifti, Kristaq. Historia e popullit shqiptar në katër vëllime. Botimet Toena, 2002, ISBN 99927-1-622-3 pp. 231-232
  11. ↑ Nadin, Lucia. Statuti di Scutari: della prima meta del secolo XIV con le addizioni fino al 1469 / Statutet e Shkodrës: në gjysmën e parë të shekullit XIV me shtesat deri më 1469. Tirana: Onufri, 2012.
  12. ↑ Ćorović, Vladimir (1933). Istorija Jugoslavije (in Serbian). Beograd: Narodno Delo. Retrieved 27 April 2011. "Год. 1499. припојена је била Црна Гора скадарском санџакату. Али, год. 1514. одвојио је султан поново и поставио јој за управника, као санџак-бега, потурченог Станишу, односно Скендер-бега Црнојевића." 
  13. ↑ Ćorović, Vladimir (1933). Istorija Jugoslavije (in Serbian). Beograd: Narodno Delo. Retrieved 27 April 2011. "1528... Црна Гора је потом поново припојена скадарском санџакату и остала је са извесним ... правима његов саставни део..." 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Varia turcica IV. Comité international d'etudes pré-Ottomanes et Ottomanes. VIth Symposium Cambridge, 1–4 July 1984, Istanbul-Paris-Leiden 1987, s. 105-114.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Milan Vasić (1984-07-04). "Etnički odnosi u jugoslovensko-albanskom graničnom području prema popisnom defteru sandžaka Skadar" (in Serbian). Rastko.rs. Retrieved 2013-02-11. 
  16. ↑ Vasić, Milan (1991). "Etnički odnosi u jugoslovensko-albanskom graničnom području prema popisnom defteru sandžaka Skadar iz 1582/83. godine". Stanovništvo slovenskog porijekla u Albaniji : zbornik radova sa međunarodnog naučnog skupa održanog u Cetinju 21, 22. i 23. juna 1990 (in Serbo-Croatian). OCLC 29549273 
  17. ↑
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 http://www.moraca-rozafa.org/onama/istorijat.html
  19. ↑ "Srbi u Albaniji jedna od najugroženih manjina u svetu" (in Serbian). Arhiva.srbija.gov.rs. 1998-09-17. Retrieved 2013-02-11. 
  20. ↑ https://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=1555225&fileOId=1563588
  21. ↑ http://www.filg.uj.edu.pl/~wwwip/postjugo/files/245/manjine-albanija.pdf
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Hyacinthe Hecquard, Histoire et description de la HauteAlbanie ou Ghégarie, Paris 1859
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Miloš Velimirović, Na Komovima, Bratstvo 5, Beograd 1892, 24
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 24.5 A. Jovićević, Malesija
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Jovan N. Tomić, O Arnautima u Staroj Srbiji i Sandžaku /About the Albanians in the Old Serbia and Sanjak/ (Belgrade: Geca Kon. 1913)
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Andrija Luburić, Vojvoda Jovan Mrkšić Klimenta Karađorđev ded i plavski Turci, Beograd 1937. 17.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Milan Šufflay, Povijest sjev. Arb., Arhiv za arbanašku stranu II, 2, Beograd 1924, 197 (Croatian)
  28. ↑ Elsie, Robert (2010) [2004]. Historical Dictionary Of Albania (2 ed.). Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. p. 226. ISBN 9781282521926. OCLC 816372706 
  29. ↑ Milan Šufflay (2000). Izabrani politički spisi. Matica hrvatska. p. 136. Retrieved 9 May 2013. "Kastrati, kojima je embrio sjedio kod ruševina rimskog "Kastra" (tabora, Iminacium?) viđenih još g. 1559. na cesti Skadar - Oroši" 
  30. ↑ Konstantin Jireček (1923). Istorija Srba. Izdavačka knjižarnica G. Kona. p. 58. Retrieved 17 May 2013. "По предању, родоначелник Куча био је Грча Ненадин, од чијих пет синова, Петра, Ђурђа, Тиха, Леша и Мара потичу њихова братства. Праотац Кастрата је Крсто, а Шаљана Шако; обојица су тобоже били браћа нареченог Грчина, док би Берише били потомци баш самога Грче." 
  31. ↑ Mary Edith Durham (1928). Some clannish origins, laws and customs of the Balkans. George Allen & Unwin. p. 22. Retrieved 14 May 2013. "The Kastrati were evidently a powerful clan, for in 1403 we find Alexius Kastrati headman in a list of Albanian chiefs who are rewarded by the Venetians with gifts of cloth." 
  32. ↑ Marko Miljanov; Milorad Stojović (1963). Sjaj legende. Grafički zavod. p. 261. Retrieved 9 May 2013. "Кастрати су од Крста" 
  33. ↑ Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti (1983). Glas. p. 109. Retrieved 9 May 2013. "Почетком XV века сусрећу се и клице данашњег племена Кастрати, чији је праотац био неки Крсто. Алекса Кастрати добио је 1403..." 
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Jovan Cvijić (1987). Sabrana dela: pt. 1. Govori i c̆lanci. Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti. p. 130. Retrieved 9 May 2013. "У најновије време сам сазнао од мог ученика Ј. Мајића да у арбанашком племену Кастрати, у селу Каменици, превлаћују православни Срби." 
  35. ↑ George Walter Gawrych (2006). The Crescent and the Eagle: Ottoman Rule, Islam and the Albanians, 1874-1913. I.B.Tauris. p. 95. ISBN 1845112873. 
  36. ↑ M. Edith Durham (30 June 2009). High Albania. ECHO LIB. p. 466. ISBN 978-1-4068-2855-9. Retrieved 13 May 2013. "Kastrati. — Consisting also of about 500 houses, lies between the Licheni Hotit and the Skreli clan. 300 houses trace descent from one Delti or Dedli, who came with his seven sons from the hariak of Drekalovich of the Kuchi. This in turn traces origin from Berisha (see below). The other 200 houses trace from people already on the spot when Delti arrived. They are said to have been Slavs. All are now Albanophone and the majority Catholic, the rest Moslems." 
  37. ↑ Carl Coleman Seltzer; Carleton Stevens Coon; Joseph Franklin Ewing (1950). The mountains of giants: a racial and cultural study of the north Albanian mountain Ghegs. The Museum. p. 45. Retrieved 14 May 2013. "Two hundred out of the 500 houses of Kastrati are pre-invasion, and are said to be of Slavic origin." 

Sources

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